Tag: AI

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EU lawmakers approve law to limit use of AI

Companies such as OpenAI that produce powerful, complex and widely used AI models will also be subject to new disclosure requirements under the law…reports Asian Lite News

European Union lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to a landmark law governing artificial intelligence (AI) to limit its use in businesses and organizations in Europe for everything from health care decisions to policing.

The first-of-its-kind law imposes blanket-bans some “unacceptable” uses of the technology while enacting stiff guardrails for other applications deemed “high-risk.”

The EU AI Act outlaws social scoring systems powered by AI and any biometric-based tools used to guess a person’s race, political leanings or sexual orientation.

It also bans the use of AI to interpret the emotions of people in schools and workplaces, as well as some types of automated profiling intended to predict a person’s likelihood of committing future crimes.

The law further outlines a separate category of ‘high-risk’ uses of AI, particularly for education, hiring and access to government services, and imposes a separate set of transparency and other obligations on them.

Companies such as OpenAI that produce powerful, complex and widely used AI models will also be subject to new disclosure requirements under the law.

It also requires all AI-generated deepfakes to be clearly labelled, targeting concerns about manipulated media that could lead to disinformation and election meddling.

The sweeping legislation, which is set to take effect in roughly two years, highlights the speed with which EU policymakers have responded to the exploding popularity of tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The legislation approved by a plenary vote in the European Parliament this week is the result of a proposal that was first introduced in 2021, which gave lawmakers a head start when the release of ChatGPT spurred an investment boom and public frenzy. (ANI)

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The Rise of AI in Wellbeing

Self-care will continue to headline as a defining wellness trend in 2024. Millennials spend twice as much on self-care as Baby Boomers, and 9 out of 10 Americans say they practice self-care, with a third increasing their activities recently…reports Asian Lite News

AI, mental health, and longevity are global trends driving the ever-expanding wellbeing space in 2024. “In the face of environmental, public health, and economic challenges, it’s crucial for us to reflect on our role in creating a safer, more sustainable world. We must all strive to be mindful of our consumption and adopt practices that promote individual and community wellbeing, all while preserving the natural world for future generations,” says Sunny Gurpreet Singh, founder of the Roundglass Living app and philanthropist. The wholistic wellbeing app, forecasts that personalised wellbeing will continue to be an area of growing importance with a sharper focus on science-backed approaches that leverage technology and biometric data, like wearable devices. 

Here are some of the top wellbeing trends to watch out for, according to Dr. David Vago, a neuroscientist and Research Lead at Roundglass Living, and his team:

AI and Wellbeing: AI has entered the wellbeing arena, with healthcare apps, virtual assistants, chatbots, and remote patient monitoring all growing rapidly. AI is leveraging biometric data to offer personalized insights and advanced analytics, allowing for tailored mental and physical wellbeing solutions.

Biometric Monitoring: Wearable devices are swiftly becoming 2024’s must-have accessories. Equipped with sensors that track health indicators (like sleep quality, blood glucose levels, and even stress through cortisol levels), these wearables are giving consumers unprecedented insights into their day-to-day wellbeing. XR (extended reality), VR (virtual reality), and AR (augmented reality) devices, like the new Apple Vision Pro, show both an increase in usage and strong interest in further adoption. “Health data from these devices can be responsibly mined to create personalized solutions for employee wellbeing,” says Dr. Vago.

Cold Plunges: Videos of people taking cold plunges in frozen lakes or specially designed tubs have taken over social media. It’s not just a health fad—new research supports the health benefits of exposure to extreme cold and heat, leading to a surge in adoption of thermal stress practices like cold plunges, cryotherapy, and saunas. Already, celebrities like actor Bradley Cooper, singer Harry Styles and NBA athlete LeBron James have popularised cold-water plunges in the media. Research shows that manageable stress created by sudden contact with extremely cold water can improve heart, vascular, and endothelial function, reduce the risk for dementia and stroke, and improve depressive disorders. In 2024, a team of researchers in the United Kingdom will conduct the largest, randomized controlled trial (involving over 400 people) to understand the impact of using cold-water exposure to treat anxiety disorders and depression. 

Climate-Focused Wellness: An uptick in extreme weather events across the globe has climate change at the forefront of many people’s minds. As a result, “climate-focused wellness” is poised for a meteoric rise. Environmental considerations will become increasingly important to both businesses and consumers. Expect to see more emphasis on promoting sustainability and reducing environmental impact. Businesses are increasingly aligning with a nature-positive mission, promoting global biodiversity framework goals and focusing on enhancing ecosystem health and resilience. “AI is anticipated to play a key role in protecting consumers and managing resources like water more efficiently. These trends underscore a growing recognition of the interconnectedness of climate change, biodiversity, and human wellbeing,” says Dr. Vago.

Sleep Aids: Good sleep never goes out of style—and it continues to be a major focus within the wellness industry. The market for sleep supplements (including melatonin and other natural sleep aids) has grown substantially, while high-tech sleep solutions (like thermoregulated mattresses, sleep trackers, and sound therapy practices) are gaining traction.

Self-care: Self-care will continue to headline as a defining wellness trend in 2024. Millennials spend twice as much on self-care as Baby Boomers, and 9 out of 10 Americans say they practice self-care, with a third increasing their activities recently. 

While trends capture the zeitgeist, healthy living is about making positive life choices every day—eating healthy, moving your body, getting adequate sleep at night, living mindfully, and tending to your relationships. Focus on putting the foundations in place and use these trends as inspiration to find what works for you.

ALSO READ-Discover Chearful: The Online Platform for Mental Health and Wellbeing

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Women’s Day: Meet 5 Female Leaders in AI

MBZUAI champions gender equity in STEM in the Emirates, boasting a 28% female student body, five full-time female faculty members, and a gender-balanced workforce….reports Asian Lite News

To celebrate the power of ‘inspire inclusion’ in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of this year’s theme for International Women’s Day 2024, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is highlighting five female leaders and changemakers working in this fast-developing area.

With a focus on developing a diverse community of AI decision-makers within the Emirates, MBZUAI is a champion for gender equity in STEM with a 28 percent female student body, five full-time female faculty members, 40 female researchers, and a gender-balanced workforce (52 percent overall female workforce).

Here are five MBZUAI women making an impact as faculty, researchers, students, or alumni:

Dr. Farida Al Hosani

1) Dr. Farida Al Hosani, vice president of MBZUAI’s Alumni Advisory Board (AAB), MBZUAI Executive Programme (MEP) alumna, and executive director of communicable diseases at Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre.

During her participation in the MBZUAI Executive Programme, Dr. Al Hosani developed a research project to create an AI-based healthcare solution for non-communicable diseases in the Emirati community including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, harnessing AI to better inform healthcare providers through data analysis and improve overall patient experience. She has recently been appointed as the vice president of the university’s Alumni Advisory Board, which will cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among alumni, and activate programs, events, and other professional initiatives.

2) Dr. Hanan Aldarmaki, assistant professor of natural language processing (NLP) at MBZUAI

With a specific focus on the Arabic language, UAE national Dr. Aldarmaki’s research at MBZUAI is focused on improving automated speech recognition for low-resource languages, or those which lack sufficient data to train computational models needed for automated speech recognition and virtual assistants. She was recently recognized for the best paper at the inaugural Arabic Natural Language Processing Conference, as part of a team from MBZUAI who shared a study on improving speech processing technologies for the Arabic language through an application that can process both speech and text inputs, and which recognizes different Arabic dialects. Dr. Aldarmaki joined MBZUAI in 2022 from UAE University (UAEU) and has previously contributed to the Statistics Center-Abu Dhabi (SCAD), and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

Salma Alrashdi

3) Salma Alrashdi, master’s student at MBZUAI

Alrashdi, a current master’s student at MBZUAI, is deeply immersed in her field of machine learning, driven by her passion for healthcare applications. A UAE national with a background in molecular biology, her research journey revolves around preventing overfitting in predicting transcription factor binding site model. Her ultimate goal is to develop AI mechanisms underlying cancer evolution, aiming to pave the way for more precise and effective treatments grounded in genetic insights. What sets

Alrashdi apart is her unique blend of biological expertise and cutting-edge AI. Her commitment to harnessing technology to tackle real-world healthcare challenges reflects a deeply rooted desire to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing battle against cancer, showcasing her unwavering dedication to making a tangible impact in the field of oncology.

Karima Kadaoui

4) Karima Kadaoui, MBZUAI alumna and research assistant at MBZUAI

Kadaoui graduated from MBZUAI as part of its inaugural Class of 2022 with a master’s in machine learning. Her thesis was on impaired speech recognition, which aims to learn the patterns of disfluency that someone with a speech disability might have and convert those back to how they would sound if spoken by a healthy individual. The Moroccan remained with MBZUAI as a research assistant and is currently working on democratizing different NLP tasks on the Arabic language and its dialects, whether in the text or speech modalities. While current translation and speech recognition systems work fairly well on standard Arabic, it is different for spoken dialects, which can be almost unintelligible from country-to-country. To be inclusive, it is imperative that systems are developed that work on the dialects spoken in real life. In the future, Kadaoui aims to enroll in a PhD to further deepen her knowledge and wants to continue leveraging AI for disadvantaged communities and use her experience gained in different modalities – such as NLP and computer vision – for a more holistic approach to assistive and inclusive AI.

Hawua Olamide Toyin

5) Hawua Olamide Toyin, current master’s student at MBZUAI

From Nigeria, Toyin is completing a master’s in machine learning at MBZUAI and is president of the Graduate Student Council. She is a member of the university’s Metaverse Center and her thesis focuses on sustainable models in the area of multimodal systems for speech recognition and synthesis, focused specifically on Arabic. Her research has been recognized at a number of external events and conferences including the GITEX Global AI InnovateFest and the first-ever Arabic Natural Language Processing Conference in Singapore. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in applying AI to the identification, correction, and evaluation of speech disorders, ultimately using AI-based solutions to benefit different industries including healthcare to improve quality of life, especially in developing countries.

ALSO READ: UAE Ranks 5th Globally in ‘Women in Parliament 2023’

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AI Firms Surge in Abu Dhabi

The research sheds light on Abu Dhabi’s ambitions to maximize the benefits of utilizing AI systems, applications, technologies, and solutions….reports Asian Lite News

A new study developed by the Business & Economics Intelligence Sector at the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry revealed that the number of AI companies registered in Abu Dhabi grew at a compound annual rate of 67% between 2021 and 2023. The substantial increase in the registration of companies further bolsters Abu Dhabi’s position as a prominent global player in the AI industry.

The research sheds light on Abu Dhabi’s ambitions to maximize the benefits of utilizing AI systems, applications, technologies, and solutions. The aim is to leverage these advancements to serve humanity and contribute to sustainable development across various social, economic, and other aspects of life.

In this context, the Abu Dhabi Chamber places particular emphasis on AI investment, aligning with its vision to enhance the reputation and standing of the private sector in Abu Dhabi. This involves implementing supportive policies and adopting innovation and digital transformations to contribute to making the Abu Dhabi the first choice in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for doing business by 2025.

Ahmed Khalifa Al Qubaisi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Chamber, said: “Today, Abu Dhabi is one of the most pioneering destinations thanks to its efforts in enhancing the contribution of AI to sustainable development. It is expected that the sector will contribution an additional $13 trillion to global economic activity by 2030, an increase equivalent to 16% in cumulative global GDP compared to the present. These efforts align with the forward-looking vision, under the guidance and support of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

This commitment is further underscored by the adherence to the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and is in line with the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, which aspires to make the UAE a global leader in all fields.”

artificial intelligence.(photo:Pixabay.com)

“The Abu Dhabi Chamber is committed to aligning with Abu Dhabi’s approach in AI. It has been a forerunner among chambers of commerce globally, activating the use of the first AI-powered platform (ChamberGPT), dedicated to handling business processing inquiries in Abu Dhabi, topping international indicators in the active usage of such platforms since its launch in 2023,” he added.

He said: “As the AI landscape becomes clearer in Abu Dhabi, the private sector and investors are increasingly interested in establishing companies that focus on innovation and artificial intelligence research and consultancies. There is also a surge in the management and operation of AI robotic systems in various business sectors.”

“There is no doubt that the decision to focus on AI is not impulsive. The Abu Dhabi government launched the Advanced Technology Research Council in May of 2020; leading to the establishment of AI71, an AI company dedicated to enhancing decentralized data control globally. Additionally, the Technological Innovation Institute (TII) was established to supervise research related to AI, data science, autonomous robots, etc., as well as the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), which is ranked among the 30 most prominent worldwide institutions for AI, computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing,” he added.

The study affirms that all the aforementioned indicators, along with others, reinforce expectations that Abu Dhabi will be one of the most attractive Arab and international destinations for investors, startups, and talents in the field of AI. Notably, it also stands out as the most well prepared for the future, ready to capitalize on the integration of AI across diverse economic sectors and sustainable development tracks.

ALSO READ: WTO Hails UAE’s Trade Liberalisation

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Cleverly warns about AI deepfakes trying to rig polls

Facebook owner Meta said it is setting up a team to tackle disinformation and the abuse of AI as concerns about misuse of the technology to manipulate voters loom…reports Asian Lite News

Deepfake videos generated using artificial intelligence could provide the “perfect storm” for the UK’s adversaries to influence the upcoming general election, the home secretary has warned.

James Cleverley said ahead of a planned meeting with tech bosses in Silicon Valley that the era of deepfake videos disrupting elections across the globe was “already in play”.

He warned that adversaries working on behalf of countries like Iran or Russia could flood social media platforms with highly realistic AI-generated deepfake videos in an attempt to sway voters. Roughly half the global population is taking part in elections this year, including in the UK, the US and across the EU.

“The era of deepfake and AI-generated content to mislead and disrupt is already in play,” Cleverley told The Times, adding that “increasingly today the battle of ideas and policies takes place in the ever-changing and expanding digital sphere.”

“The landscape it is inserted into needs its rules, transparency and safeguards for its users. The questions asked about digital content and the sources of digital content are no less relevant than those asked about the content and sources at dispatch boxes, newsrooms, or billboard ads,” he said.

Earlier this month tech giants including Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and 17 others agreed to work together to prevent deceptive AI content, but this pact did not commit to banning deepfake videos.

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan also warned earlier this month that deepfakes could swing a close UK election. Khan, who was the victim of an AI-generated recording of him supposedly making inflammatory remarks in the run-up to Armistice Day protests last year, said the regulation around the fakes is currently “not fit for purpose.”

“It’s not an issue of policing, it’s an issue of legislation and regulation,” he said.

“My worry is, in a close election, a close referendum, these sorts of deepfake videos and audios can be the difference, but also my concern is, there are sometimes examples where these sorts of deepfake audios can lead to serious disturbances, particularly when emotions are running high,” the London mayor warned.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said the general election will take place at some point this year, likely in October, but the exact date has not yet been announced. The European Parliament is set to go into elections this year in June.

Ahead of the EU elections, Facebook owner Meta said it is setting up a team to tackle disinformation and the abuse of AI as concerns about misuse of the technology to manipulate voters loom.

“As the election approaches, we’ll activate an Elections Operations Center to identify potential threats and put mitigations in place in real time,” Marco Pancini, Meta’s head of EU affairs, said in a blog post.

Experts from across Meta’s teams, including those working in its intelligence, engineering, content policy, and legal teams will work on combating misinformation and tackling influence operations to tackle the abuse of such AI tools.

The social media giant said it is working with 26 independent fact-checking organisations across the EU covering 22 languages.

ALSO READ-Cleverly underlines commitment to cut net migration

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Cisco Reveals Saudi Arabia’s AI Readiness Ahead of LEAP 2024

LEAP 2024 will be held from 4-7 March at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre, Malham in Saudi Arabia. Cisco stand will be located at booth J10, Hall 1 – Big Tech…reports Asian Lite News

Ahead of LEAP 2024 technology conference in Riyadh, Cisco announced the findings of its AI Readiness Index in Saudi Arabia. The Index, which surveyed over 8,000 companies across 30 countries, was developed in response to the accelerated adoption of AI. The survey shows that 93% of organizations in KSA have an AI strategy in place or under development, while only 8% consider themselves fully prepared to deploy and leverage AI.

Improving the efficiency of and increasing productivity was ranked among the top outcomes that companies are looking to drive through adoption of AI, with 47% of respondents in KSA placing it on top of gains they expect from AI. Opening new revenue streams was the lowest on the list of expectations, as ranked by 30% of respondents.

On talent development, 31% of KSA respondents ranked comprehension and proficiency of AI tools and technologies as the primary skill gap. The good news is that organizations are taking steps to address this gap. Among the organizations surveyed in Kingdom, 82% say they are investing in training employees in this area.

On infrastructure readiness, the survey shows that a mere 12% of local organizations in KSA have networks that are fully flexible to handle the complexity of AI workloads. Cybersecurity also needs increased focus, as 70% of respondents fall short of being “fully equipped” to detect and prevent adversarial attacks on AI models.​

Commenting on the results of the study, Salman Faqeeh, Managing Director, Cisco Saudi Arabia said: “Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in recent years to establish itself as a leading player in the field of AI. The Kingdom recognizes the transformative potential of AI and has placed it at the center of its Vision 2030”. He added: “At Cisco, we believe in the critical role of AI to revolutionize industries and drive innovation, and it has been an important element across our portfolio for over a decade. As the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is working to implement the National Strategy for Data and AI, the insights from the index can help inform the prioritization across important pillars including strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent, and culture.”

This year, Cisco’s participation at LEAP is revolving around the theme of “AI Unleashed: Shaping Sustainable Digital Evolution”. Visitors will be able to engage with subject matter experts at Cisco’s booth and discover demos to harness the power of AI to enable a sustainable, securely connected future. The company will showcase its latest technology innovations, spanning networking, security, collaboration, and applications, besides industry use-cases alongside its channels and ecosystem partners.

Reem Asaad, Vice President for Cisco Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, Romania, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), commented: “Cisco has a long-standing presence in the region, working to advance national digital economies, develop infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity, and build the region’s talent pool. This year at LEAP, we are excited to demonstrate the power of our portfolio to support our customers and partners in Saudi Arabia and beyond in leveraging our latest technologies to increase efficiencies and drive innovation.”

LEAP 2024 will be held from 4-7 March at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre, Malham in Saudi Arabia. Cisco stand will be located at booth J10, Hall 1 – Big Tech.

Cisco AI Readiness Index 

The new Cisco AI Readiness Index is based on a double-blind survey of 8,161 private sector business and IT leaders across 30 markets, conducted by an independent third-party surveying respondents from companies with 500 or more employees. The Index assessed respondents’ AI readiness across six key pillars: strategy, infrastructure, data, talent, governance, and culture.

Companies were examined on 49 different metrics across these six pillars to determine a readiness score for each, as well as an overall readiness score for the respondents’ organization. Each indicator was assigned an individual weightage based on its relative importance to achieving readiness for the applicable pillar. Based on their overall score, Cisco has identified four groups at different levels of organizational readiness – Pacesetters (fully prepared), Chasers (moderately prepared), Followers (limited preparedness), and Laggards (unprepared). 

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‘AI Poses Job Threat, but More Opportunities Ahead’

Patel said that he has seen technology and multiple innovations evolve over a period of time….reports Asian Lite News

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) begins to threaten certain jobs, Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India/South Asia, has said that AI will actually create more job options that it destroys.

Speaking to IANS, Patel said that he has seen technology and multiple innovations evolve over a period of time.

“I firmly believe AI will create more jobs than it destroys. People are usually very scared when imagining entirely new jobs. For example, take the Internet, when the Internet came right, and you had web publishing and all things that were web-enabled, it led to job decline in certain sectors like newspaper printing,” he explained.

However, it also resulted in entirely new job categories like web design, data science, digital marketing and web publishing, which employ millions of people, he added.

“So, one of the things which we have been very articulate about and keep harping on is that re-skilling will play a very important role,” Patel stressed.

While 46 per cent of the companies in India are currently training or reskilling employees to work together with automation and AI tools, it leaves room for a lot more to be done.

“This is something that the government clearly recognises,” he said.

When we look at employees within the organisation, 50 per cent say they are excited to work with new AI and automation tools.

“So, the question now is how do you train a vast pool of people? Everyone can’t be a coder or AI developer and so on and so forth. You have to learn to work with these technologies as they evolve,” Patel told IANS.

According to Minister of State for IT and Skill Development Rajeev Chandrasekhar, technological talent, not chip-driven compute power, is the key to India’s progress in AI.

“Talent is a much more fundamental challenge in AI. We need universities to churn out masters and PhDs in AI. Talent is something that keeps me awake at night. The infrastructure pieces will get solved very quickly,” he said at an event last December.

There is a serious need for the tech industry and academic institutions to work along with the governments globally in shaping the future pipeline of talent for AI-related jobs, he stressed.

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OpenAI CEO invites UAE to lead AI talks

Asked about what can be expected from ChatGPT 5, Altman said, “It is going to be smarter, it will be multimodal, it will be faster. But what I think matters is it’s going to be smarter.”…reports Asian Lite News

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, called for a global system for AI oversight and invited the UAE to lead discussions during the opening session of the second day of the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2024.

“For various reasons, the UAE would be well-positioned to lead discussions on this matter. I propose hosting a one-day conference where global leaders can brainstorm and strategise on these important issues,” said Altman, speaking via video conferencing in a session with Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications.

Altman said, “I often use the example of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, as a model for handling the impact of the most powerful AI systems. Establishing auditing and safety measures before deploying superintelligence or artificial general intelligence (AGI) is crucial.”

He noted that the readiness of the UAE positions it to lead global discussions on leveraging artificial intelligence systems while implementing secure measures.

Altman highlighted the ‘remarkable’ future awaiting humanity with the advancement of AI systems. Once fully developed, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionise education, healthcare, and new sciences, he said.

Altman said despite its growth, the world is still witnessing the early stages of AI. “We haven’t seen this much world changing, and I think the reason is that the current technology we have is like a black and white TV screen,” said Altman, noting that “we have a long way to go.”

AI will make intelligence broadly available, inexpensive and a tool to let humanity build the future. However, its full advancement and growth will require time and patience, similar to that of the progress of cellular phones from primitive mobiles to today’s iPhones.

“In a few more years, the technology will be much better than it is now and, in a decade, it should be remarkable,” said Altman. “We don’t realise how limited we are now, and how limited our intelligence is and how expensive and difficult the technology is.”

Altman urged governments to adopt AI technologies to better serve citizens and modernise the workplace.

Asked about what can be expected from ChatGPT 5, Altman said, “It is going to be smarter, it will be multimodal, it will be faster. But what I think matters is it’s going to be smarter.”

Altman said ChatGPT, which was developed by OpenAI, revolutionised education and made scientists more productive.

“Imagine a world where everyone gets a great personal tutor, a great personalised medical advice, and how we can use these tools to discover new sciences and build healthy environments,” said Altman.

He stressed the need for governments to collaborate towards adopting the new technologies, putting the right measures in place and patience until the new technologies take their full shape.

Altman noted that this generation is unbelievably lucky to be living “in the best time of human history,” noting that although rules are shifting, the ability AI will give people to express their creative imagination and will is remarkable.

Running until 14th February, this year’s WGS brings together more than 25 heads of state, more than 85 international and regional organisations and global institutions, 140 governments, and distinguished global thought leaders and experts.

Over 200 prominent speakers are addressing global future trends during more than 110 dialogues and sessions. WGS 2024 also hosts more than 4000 attendees, as well as more than 23 ministerial meetings and executive sessions attended by more than 300 ministers.

ALSO READ-Goyal calls India as a ‘voice of developing nations’

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Microsoft to skill 2 mn Indians in AI

Cloud will be foundational to scaling India's digital journey: Satya Nadella

As part of the initiative, Microsoft will raise awareness of responsible AI use and AI-enabled careers for 400,000 students in schools in remote and tribal regions, enabling them to be next-generation AI innovators…reports Asian Lite News

In a significant skilling initiative in India, Microsoft aims to equip 2 million people with AI skills by 2025.

The initiative called ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA is part of Microsoft’s ‘Skills for Jobs’ program, which is designed to empower India’s workforce with future-ready skills.

The initiative is part of Microsoft’s broader commitment to accelerate India’s AI transformation. The skilling initiative is aligned with the company’s responsible AI principles, and training will be delivered in partnership with governments, nonprofit and corporate organizations, and communities.

Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who is in India this week, announced at an event on Wednesday that Microsoft will equip 2 million people with AI skills in India by 2025.

According to Microsoft’s recent Work Trend Index, 90 percent of Indian leaders say the people they hire will need new skills to prepare them for the growth of AI. Furthermore, 78 percent of Indian workers say they don’t have the right AI capabilities to complete their current work.

To address this needs gap, ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA will focus on training individuals in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, as well as rural areas, enabling people to participate in the new era of AI and unlock inclusive socio-economic progress.

“The ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA initiative is a significant step towards democratizing access to AI skills across the nation and reflects Microsoft’s deep commitment to enabling inclusive growth with technology,” said Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India and South Asia.

“India has a huge opportunity to be a global leader in AI, and creating AI fluency at scale is a critical step in that journey. This initiative aims to propel India into a promising era of AI fluency, empowering citizens across India with the right skills to thrive in the age of AI.”

The ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA initiative will focus on three key areas to create AI fluency – Equipping India’s future workforce, upskilling government officials in AI and working to build the AI capability of nonprofit organizations.

To deliver ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA, Microsoft will partner with India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and 10 state governments to provide basic and advanced training in AI to 500,000 students and job seekers in 100 rural vocational education institutions and training centers.

This will expand on Microsoft’s existing collaboration with the ministry to train young people in digital and cybersecurity skills.

In addition, Microsoft will provide in-depth AI technical skills training for 100,000 young women through 5,000 trainers at higher education institutions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

As part of the initiative, Microsoft will raise awareness of responsible AI use and AI-enabled careers for 400,000 students in schools in remote and tribal regions, enabling them to be next-generation AI innovators.

Microsoft will strengthen its partnership with India’s National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building, equipping 250,000 government officers with essential knowledge of generative AI and increasing their AI fluency.

It will enable 2,500 nonprofits and nongovernment organizations to leverage AI skilling resources and technologies to further train 750,000 learners – including underserved youths, young women, and jobseekers – in AI fluency and technical skills.

Over the past three years, Microsoft has provided more than 5,000 nonprofits in India with relevant, affordable, and innovative cloud and technology solutions. It has also helped more than 20,000 nonprofit employees use technology to accelerate their mission.

Microsoft entities in India have over 23,000 employees engaged in sales and marketing, research, development, customer support, and industry solutions across 10 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune.

Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local datacenters to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella announced that Microsoft will provide 2 million people in India with AI skilling opportunities by 2025, to help close skills gaps and strengthen India’s ability to thrive in the AI era.

“India is uniquely positioned to make the promise of AI a reality. We are committed to partnering broadly across the public and private sector to help close the nation’s AI skills gap and create new opportunities throughout the country,” Nadella told the gathering.

Nadella highlighted how Microsoft Copilot, along with the company’s other AI solutions, is driving measurable productivity gains for people and organisations by helping them complete work faster and with superior quality.

Many organisations in India are already accelerating innovation using Copilot for Microsoft 365 and GitHub Copilot, like Axis Bank, Infosys, HCL Tech, LTIMindtree and others.

Microsoft said that organisations in India are seeing an average $3.86 return for every US dollar spent on AI projects, and more than 150 organisations are already innovating with Azure OpenAI Service across industries such as agriculture, aviation, ecommerce, and fast-moving consumer goods.

Air India, the flag carrier airline, deployed a generative AI virtual agent called AI.g. It has successfully answered over half a million customer queries since its launch in March 2023, and manages over 6,000 queries a day in four languages.

With its fourth data centre region set to go live soon, and data centres in collaboration with Jio, Microsoft boasts more datacenter regions than any other cloud provider in the country.

ALSO READ-Nadella to visit India in Feb, discuss new AI opportunities  

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UK govt to spend $125m on AI hubs, regulation

Executives at leading players in AI, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon, welcomed the government’s announcement…reports Asian Lite News

The United Kingdom has unveiled plans to spend over 100 million pounds ($125m) on research and training related to artificial intelligence (AI).

Under the plans announced on Tuesday, the government will launch nine new AI research hubs across the UK, support research projects examining the responsible use of AI in education, policing and creative industries, and train regulators on managing the risks and benefits of the technology.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan said AI had the potential to “transform our public services and the economy for the better” and produce treatments for diseases like cancer and dementia.

“AI is moving fast, but we have shown that humans can move just as fast. By taking an agile, sector-specific approach, we have begun to grip the risks immediately, which in turn is paving the way for the UK to become one of the first countries in the world to reap the benefits of AI safely,” Donelan said in a statement.

The announcement comes after the UK in November launched the world’s first institute dedicated to AI safety and hosted a global summit on the topic, at which more than 25 countries signed the so-called Bletchley Declaration acknowledging the technology’s risks of “serious, even catastrophic, harm”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to position his country as a leader in AI regulation, arguing that only governments can properly assess the risks of the technology and possess the “power and legitimacy to keep their people safe”.

Executives at leading players in AI, including Microsoft, Google and Amazon, welcomed the government’s announcement.

“The hub and spoke model will help the UK benefit from the domain expertise of regulators, as well as provide clarity to the AI ecosystem – and I’m particularly supportive of the commitment to support regulators with further resources,”  Google DeepMind’s Chief Operating Officer Lila Ibrahim said in a statement.

“AI represents an opportunity to drive progress for humanity, and we look forward to working with the government to ensure that the UK can continue to be a global leader in AI research and set the standard for good regulation.”

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